Nearly 3,000 guests and staff will be placed under hotel quarantine from Wednesday in preparation for a two-day visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover, the Post has learned.

Some officials who decided to “play it safe” have even already started their quarantine. This included outgoing Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and a few other ministers such as security chief Chris Tang Ping-keung, housing minister Frank Chan Fan and education minister Kevin Yeung Yun-hung, who checked into the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Wan Chai on Monday evening.

They have been working under a “closed-loop” arrangement, an unprecedented measure that means officials only travel between government headquarters in Admiralty and the hotel until Wednesday. They are scheduled to take part in celebratory events the next day at the convention centre, according to sources.